Flat platen accounting machine



y 7 E. L. WISE 2,799,379

- FLAT PLATEN ACCOUNTING MACHINE V 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 26, 1953 INVENTOR. ELMEP L. W/SZ A TTORNE Y y 1957 E. L. WISIE 2,799,379

- FLAT PLATEN ACCOUNTING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1953 ssneet -sneet :5

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2,799,379 FLAT PLATEN ACCOUNTENG. MACHINE Application June 26, 1953, Serial No. 364,287

8 Claims.- (Cl. 197-2) This invention relates to flat platen accounting machines and especially to that type of flat platen machine of which the Underwood Elliott Fisher is the bestknown example. In its more particular aspects, the invention is concerned with means for controlling the movement of the platen of such machines and for automatically feeding carbon paper and continuous record strips.

As is known, Underwood Elliott Fisher machines are of two general styles. In one style, the type head or carriage is moved for both letter-feeding and line-spacing and in the other style, the type head is moved only for letterfeeding, the platen being moved for line-spacing. Certain features of this invention are applicable to both styles of machine and others relate specifically to the latterstyle. For simplicity of explanation, the description of the invention will be confined to an embodiment in the latter style of machine.

In certain accounting work with this style of machine, for-example in billing, it is customary to place the billhead on the platen with its left-hand edge adjacent and clamped to the left-hand edge of the platen. The first entry on the bill will generally be the Old Balance, after the entry of which the carriage is tabulated to positions for printing other data such as debits, credits and new balance. There will normally be only one Old Balance on a particular bill but there may be any number of other items such as debits. If more than one debit .is to be entered, the operator returnsthe carriage to the debit column before each debit entry, a carriage return key, being provided for this purpose. Asknown to the art, this same key may be manipulatedin such manner as to cause the carriage to return all the way to the left or line-start position or. there may be a separate, key for returningthe carriage. all the way. When the carriage -is returned to the debit column for making a second entry the platen is-line-spaced to therear andthe billhead, being clamped to the platen, is consequently line-spaced. After all entries have been made on a bill,: the carriage is returned to line-start position for entry of the Old, Balance on the next billhead to be placed in the machine. A ledger sheet willgenerally be placed on the platen beneath the billhead, carbon paper between the two causing the data typed on the billhead to appear also on the ledger. Beneath the ledger sheet is another carbon and a tally strip. Usually only a part of information typed on the billhead will appear on' the tally but all of it may be made to appear if desired.

Since the, platen of the machine to which this invention appertains is flat and moves in a plane, it is necessary, after the platen has been line-spaced as far as it will go, to return it at least part way or preferably all the way to its first-line-of-writing position. If the tally and the carbon were-clamped to the platen, they would of course move forward with the p'latentduring' its return movement and then when the next bill was made out the carbon would be used in the same placethat it had previously been used and the tally would receive new impressions on top of the old'ones.

2,799,379 Patented July 16, 1957 ice It is an object of this invention to provide a flat platen accounting machine of the type having a line-spacing platen with means for automatically feeding a rolled tally' strip and a rolled carbon strip past the printing line and to make provision where movement of the platen inreturn direction will not affect the position of the strips with respect to the printing line.

it is a further object of the invention to provide such a machine with means for feeding rolled carbon past theprinting line in very small steps, to thereby effect economical use of the carbon paper.

' It is a still further object of the invention to provide a flat platen accounting machine with means for automatically restoring the platen to first-line-of-writingposition upon effecting a complete return of the type carriage to line-start position after the platen has been line-spaced a predetermined distance.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent as the description of a preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of amachine embodying the invention, certain parts being shown in section,

Figure 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a portion of the carriage returnmechanism,

Figure 3 is aplan view showing the mechanism for restoring the platen to first-line-of-writing position,

Figure 4 is a plan view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figure 3 and showing the position of the parts at the moment of beginning an automatic restoration of the platen,

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the parts in the positions assumed after the platen has been automatically restored and before the next lineof writing has been started, and

Figure 6 is an enlarged elevational view of the' means for feeding the tally strip and carbon strip.-

Referring first to Figure l, the machine comprises a stationary base structure, generally designated at 10, which may be in the form of a stand or table. A substantially flat platen 11 carried in a suitable platen frame is mounted on the support 10 for horizontal movement back and forth thereon. The particular manner of mounting the platen 11 is not important to the present invention but it may conveniently be mounted as shown in the application No. 262,614,

filed December 20, 1951 by vSundstrand and Swanson, now Patent No. 2,667,956. A type carriage support generally designated 12 is carried by the'base 10 and a pair of tracks 13 and 14 forming a part thereof extend crosswise of the platen and serve to support a type head or carriage generally designated 15 for. movement back and forth across the platen in letterfeed and return directions. a

The carriage 15 comprises the usual array of printing instrumentali-ties or type actions 16, the operation of which is determined by keys 17 of a typewriter keyboard. The carriage is moved in letter-feed direction by the usual spring drum indicated in chain-dotted lines at 18, under control of the usual escapement mechanism-not shown.

An electric motor shown in outline in Figure 2 at 19 is mounted upon the type carriage 12. The drive shaft of the motor has secured thereto a worm 20 meshing with a Worm wheel 21 drivingly connected to a stub shaft '22. Connected by means of a sleeve to the worm wheel results in-the" pinion 25 "driving the rack 26 andcon- A mere momentary 3 sequently the carriage in a return direction toward linestart position.

The clutch 2324 may be engaged by depression of either of two keys 27 or 28 located at the left side of the keyboard. The key 27 is carried by a key stem fixed to one arm of a bell crank 29 pivotally mounted on the carnage. The other arm of the bell crank is connected by a pin-and-slot connection cross-shaft 32. Another arm has an end situated in close proximity to a bail member 34 suitably connected to a rockshaft 35 mounted on the type carriage support 12.

33 fixed to said cross-shaft An arm is fixed to therockshaft 35 and an arm'37 is loosely mounted thereon. The arm 37 has a nose normally resting behind a shoulder located at one end of a member 38 fixed to a rockshaft 39 to which rockshaft is also fixed a clutch shifter member 40 having a shifter portion located within a groove 41 of the sleeve which connectsthe clutch element.24 to the pinion 25. A spring-42 extending between pins provided on the arm 37 and member 38 normally holds the nose of the arm 37 in contact with the shoulder of the member 38.

Depression of the key 27 causes the arm 33 to swing the ball member and the rockshaft 35 to which it is connected in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fi ure 2,

whereupon the arm 36 lifts the nose of the arm 37 from contact with the shoulder of the member 38 and the spring 42- swings the member 38 and the clutch shifter member 40 in the directionto en age the clutch 23-24.

The key 28 is carried by a key stem 43 the lower end of which is slidably mounted in a guide 44 provided on the type carriage. The key stem 43 is connected by a pin-and-slot connection 45 with the stem of the key 27 so that depression of the key 28 will engage the clutch 2324 in the same manner as described above in connection with depression of the key 27.

Mounted upon the type carriage support 12 immediately belowthe of margin stops 47 of varying hei ht, see also Figures 3 and 4. The margin stops are positioned on the rack 46 with the highest stop to the left, the shortest to the right and that of intermediate hei ht in the middle and thev may be adiusted to any desired positions along the rack so that by proper manipulation of the keys 27 and 28 the carriage may be made to return to any desired position. When the key 27 is depressed, the pin-and-slot connection 45 causes the lower end of the key stem 43 to move down into position for contact with the intermediate margin stop 47 and depression of the key 28 causes the lower end of the key stem 43 to move down far enough to contact the shortest or righthand margin stop 47. depression of either key will institute a carriage return and the carriage will move all the way to the left until a fixed eounterstop 48 strikes the highest or left-hand margin stop 47, a spring 49 drawing the key stem 43 back to normal position when the depressed key is released. The illustrated mechanism is more fully explained in the patent to Sundstrand, No. 2,283,401. However, the details of the carriage return mechanism are not of the essence of the present invention and it will be understood that any carriage return mechanism which provides for both intermediate and full returns may be employed.

For permitting the platen to be moved in line-space and return directions, a rack 50, see particularly Figures .1, 3 and 4, is secured to each side of the platen and a pair of toothed Wheels 51 secured near opposite ends of a cross shaft 52 rotatably mounted in the type carriage support 12 mesh with said racks. Since the details of the mechanism for movingthe platen in line-space direction are not of the essence of the present invention the same has not been shown in detail, but in general such mechanism includes a fine toothed wheel 53 secured to the shaft 52 near the right-hand end thereof and a pawl 54 for rotating said wheel. A suitable line-space mechguide 44 is a rack 46 carrying a lurality 30 to an arm 31 fixed to a member and said bracket.

shown in the copending application of Sundstrand and Swanson, Serial No. 356,494, filed May 21, 1953, now Patent No. 2,770,344, wherein depression of either of the carriage return keys 27 or 28 institutes a line-spacing operation so that when the carriage returns to its lefthand position the platen will have been moved to position for typing the next line. There is also a handle 55 located forwardly of the type head near the plane of the platen which may be used for operating the line-space mechanism if desired.

Referring now to Figure 3 for an explanation of the platen-return mechanism; a shaft 55 mounted in the type carriage support is constantly driven by the motor 19 and has fixed thereto a bevel gear 56 meshing with a bevel gear 57 provided with a sleeve 58 mounted in a suitable bearing, not shown. A shaft 59 has one end rotatably mounted within the sleeve 58 and has a second bearing portion within the type carriage support 12. 'Near its right-hand end the shaft 59 has secured thereto a toothed clutch element 60 and near its left-hand end said shaft is provided with a grooved collar 61 by means of which said shaft may be shifted to the left, as viewed in Figure 3, to bring the teeth of the clutch element 60 into engagement with teeth 62 formed on one end of the collar 58 to thereby cause the shaft 59 to rotate with the bevel gear 57. A wide pinion 63 secured to shaft 59 meshes with the left-hand toothed wheel 51. When the clutch 60-62 is engaged the pinion 63 rotates the toothed wheel 51 and the shaft 52 to which said wheel is secured to thereby cause the pair of toothed wheels 51 to drive the racks 50 and consequently the platen toward the front of the machine to restore said platen to first-line-of-writing position.

A bracket 64 is secured tothe type carriage support and pivotally mounted on said bracket at 65 is a member 66 having a pin 67 fitted within the groove of the grooved collar 61. The member 65 is pivotally connected by means of an elongated pin 68 to one end of a long link 69. The forward end of the link 69 is pivotally connected to an operating handle 70 which handle in turn is pivotally connected at 71 to a plate 72 secured to, or forming a part of, the type carriage support. A detent member 73 is pivotally connected at one end to the bracket 64 and is urged in a clockwise direction by a spring 74 extending between the other end of said When the operating handle 70 is pulled forward the link 69 rocks the member 66 in a counterclockwise direction to cause the pin 67 to ,shift the shaft 59 to the left to engage the clutch 6062 and during this forward movement of the link 69 the 73, whereby the link 69 and theshaft 59 are resiliently held in operated position until the platen is fully returned.

Secured to the left-hand rack 50 is the vertical arm of an angle member 76 to the horizontal arm of, which is secured a member 77 havingan upstanding tab 78. When the platen is in its first-line-of-writing position, the tab 78 bears against one end of a lever 79. The lever 79 is pivotally connected at approximately its midpoint to the plate 72 and at its left-hand end has a pin-and-slot connection 80 with the link 69. As the platen line-spaces rearwardly the tab 78 moves away fromthe end of the lever 79. Upon forward movement of the link 69 to institute a platen-return, the lever 79 is swung by the pin-and-slot connection 80 to the position shown in Figtion the writing line will begin adjacent. the left-hand edge of the billhead and at this location the Old Balance" will normally be typed. .After typing the Old Balance the carriage will be tabulated to the right for typing certain descriptive matter, then tabulated again to position for typing Debits, then possibly tabulated further for the typing of Credits and then tabulated once more for the printing of a New Balance. There will normally be only one Old Balance typed on each billhead but there may be a number of other items such, for example, as Debits and these will normally be typed in a vertical column, necessitating a line space. after each. one.. This line spacing will normally be accomplished automatically when the carriage is returned to positionfor typing the extra items and because. of the provision of an intermediate carriage return key it is not necessary for the operator to return the carriage all the way to line-start position before each, for example, Debit item is typed. Since the Old Balance is typed only once on each bill it is only necessary that the carriage be returned to firstline-of-writing position when a new billhead is to be inserted. Thus, during the making out of a single bill the platen may be line-spaced a half dozen or more times, depending upon the number of items to be entered. Without some special provision being made therefor it would be necessary to operate the handle 70 to return the platen after each few bills were completed in order to assure that the platen would be able to move enough line spaces for the making-out of a complete bill. However, the present invention provides means whereby after the platen has been line-spaced a predetermined distance, for example, or 6 lines, the next full return of the carriage to OldBalance position will automatically institute a return of the platen, so that if the platen has line-spaced this predetermined distance during the makingout of one or more bills the movement of the carriage to position for beginning the next bill will cause the platen to be restored to its first-line-of-writingposition, thus assuring sufficient line-space movements to permit the making-out of a bill having a large number of debit or credit items. The mechanism for accomplishing this result will now be described.

Referring now to Figures 3, 4 and 5, a member 81 is provided with an elongated slot 82 by means of which said member is mounted for limited movement upon a pin 83 secured in the upper surface of the plate 72. A spring 84 extending between the member 81 and the type carriage support 12 urges said member toward the left and ina clockwise direction about the pin 83 but said member is normally held in the Figure 3 position by engagementof a tab 85 thereon'with a nose 86 of a latch member 87. The latch member 87 is pivotally mounted upon a pin.88 carriedby the plate 72 and is urged in a clockwise direction against a stop pin 89 carried by the plate 72 by a spring 90 extending between said latch member andzsaid plate. A member 91 is pivotally mounted upon the pin 88 beneath the latch member 87 and a spring 92 extending between the members 87 and 91 normally holds a pin 93 provided on the member 91 against a shoulder on the latch member 87.

After the platen has been line-spaced a predetermined distance or predetermined number of line-spaces, the tab 78 of the member 77 contacts an arm 94of the member 91 and swings said member in a counterclockwise direction about the pin 88 whereupon the pin 93, because of its engagement with the shoulder on the latch member 87', swings saidlatch member in a counterclock- Wise direction to remove the nose 86 from engagement with the tab-85 of the member 81. Suitably secured to the left-hand edge of the plate 72 is a member 95 against an edge 96-of which is normally held a cam surface 97 provided on the member 81 When the nose 86 is moved out of'engagement with the .tab 85', the spring 84 moves the member 81 from the Figure 3 position to of-writing positions thepositioni'shown in Figure 5, wherein a portion 98 of saidmember lies behind a pin 99 provided upon an arm 100 of the. platen return clutch operating link 69, an edge 1010f said member limiting the clockwise movement thereof. by contact with the edge 96 of the member 95.

Secured at the lower left-hand edge of the type carriage 15 is a bracket 102 upon which is mounted a member 103 having a cam face 104. If the carriage is returned to line-start position at any time before the platen has been line-spaced sufficiently to trip the latch member 87. thecam surface 104 will lightly contact an elongated pin'105 which extends upwardly from the member 81 but will not impart suflicient movement to said member to release the tab from engagement with the nose 86. However, if at the time a full return is imparted to the carriage, the platen has been line-spaced sufficiently to release the latch member 87 from the member 81 and the member- 81 has taken up the Figure 5 position, as previously explained, then as the carriage nears its fully returned position, the cam surface 104 will contact the pin 105 and rock the member 81 sufficiently for the portion 98'thereof to move the pin 99 and the link 69 forward, as best seen in Figure 4, to engage the platen return. clutch 604-62. As the platen reaches its fully returned position, the tab 78 strikes the right-hand end of lever 79 to restore the link 69 to normal position and disengage the .clutch 6062.

With the carriage and platen in line-start and first-linerespectively, the parts are in the po- 5. As the carriage moves to the right in letter-feed direction, a straight face 106 of the member 103 contacts the pin 105 and moves the member 81 to the right. The tab 85 strikes a sloping surface on the nose 86 and rocks the latch member 87 slightly to permit said tab to take up its latched position shown in Figure 3. The cam surface 97 of the member 91 by contacting the edge 96 of member causes the member 91 to be swung back to the Figure 3 position.

The member 103 is held on the bracket 102 by means of a thumbscrew 107 and if desired may be adjusted to an up position, wherein it will not strike the pin under any circumstances, thus permitting the carriage to be returned all the way to line-start position for each line of writing without causing an automatic platen return.

For an explanation of the means for mounting and feeding the carbon paper and tally strip, attention is now directed to Figures 1 and 6. A rolled tally strip 108 is mounted beneath the level of the platen on a freely rotatable shaft 109 carried by suitable brackets 110 provided on opposite sides of the stationary base 10. In use, the tally strip is extended forwardly and upwardly from the roll, over suitable guide rods or rollers 111 and from thence rearwardly over the platen and a rear guide roll 112, then downwardly between a set of feed rolls 113 and 114. The feedroll 113 is fixed to a shaft 115 mounted for rotation between a pair of brackets 116, only one of which is shown, suitably secured to opposite sidesof the base 10. The feed roll 114 is rotatably mounted between the lower ends of a pair of swingable arms117, only one of which is shown. The arms 117 are pivotally mounted on the brackets 116 by means of a rod 118 and are provided with detent springs 119 the operation of which will presently be explained. The feed roll 114 is normally held in contact with the feed roll 113 by suitable spring means 120 and may be disengaged therefrom to permit insertion or removal of the tally by forward movement of the upper ends of the arms 117.

For rotating the feed rolls 113 and 114 to thereby pull the tally strip rearwardly past the printing line, a pulley 121 is fixed to the shaft 115. A drive belt 122 passes over the pulley 121 and over a pulley 123 fixed to a shaft 124 rotatably mounted in the base 10. A pinion 125 is rotatable on the shaft 124 and meshes with the teeth of a rack 126 suitably secured to the platen for back and sition shown in Figure e 7 'forth movement therewith. A suitable one-way clutch Twhichmay be in the form'of apawl 127 and ratchet 128 connects .the pinion .125 to the shaft 124, whereby rear- ;Ward movement'ofthe platen will rotate the shaft 124 and pulley,125,in a counterclockwise direction but forward movement'of theplaten will not rotate said pulley. The ratio of thedrive between the pinion and the feed roll 113 is 1 to 1, so that each time the platen is moved rearwardly a line-space distance, the tally will be moved a line-space distance past the printing line. Because of the one-way drive between the pinion 125 and the pulley 123, the platen may be restored to first-line-of-writing position'with'out affecting the position of the tally strip .with respect to the'pritning line. Thus, the tally will be automatically fed past thev printing line in line-space 'increments, even though the platen is moved alternately in line-space and return direction.

Mounted on the base 10 forwardly of the tally roll 108 for free rotation are one or more carbon paper rolls .129. In use,,the carbon strips are extended from the rolls over front guide rods or rolls 130 and rearwardly over the platen, then downwardly between a set of feed rolls 131 and 132, see particularly Figure 6. It will be understood that one carbon strip lies immediately on the top ,of the tally strip to cause the desired portion of the information originally typed to appear on the tally and that there will be another carbon strip for each duplicate of the typed record.

The feed roll 131 is secured to a shaft 133 rotatably mounted between the brackets 116. The feed roll 132 isrotatably mounted between the lower ends of a pair of arms 134, only one of which is shown. The arms 134 are .secured to a shaft 135 rotatable in the brackets 116 and said shaft may be supported intermediate its length by "a brace 136. Suitable spring means 137 normally holds the feed roll 132 in engagement with the feed roll 131. The ms 134 are provided with detent springs 138, and when the upper ends of said arms are swung forwardly to release the feed roll 132 from engagement with the feed roll 131, as when inserting or removing the carbon paper, openings 139 in the detent springs become positioned over tabs 140 provided on the brackets 116 to hold said arms in feed roll release positions. By squeezing the detent springs against the arms 134 the openings 139 are released from the tabs 140 to permit the spring means 137 to reengage the feed roll 132 with the feed roll 131.

InFigure 6, the arm 134 which is shown is the one located on the right-hand side of the machine, while the him 117 is the one on the left side. The arms 117 are detented in feed roll release positions in the same manner as described above in connection with the arms 134.

A stub shaft 141 is secured in the left-hand bracket 116 and rotatably mounted thereon is a gear 142 to which is fixed a pinion 143. The stub shaft 141 extends outwardly from the bracket 116 so as not to interfere with the left-hand arm 117, which is located between the brackets 116. The gear 142 meshes with a pinion 144 secured near the end of the feed roll shaft 115 and the pinion 143 meshes with a gear secured to the feed roll shaft 133. Any desired drive ratio between the pinion 144 and gear 145 may be provided but it is preferable. that the ratio be made quite low so that each movement of the feed roll 113 to line space the tally strip will move the feed roll 131 only slightly, to thereby impart a feed to the carbon strip which is only a small percentage of a line-space distance. This arrangement results in an automatic feeding of the carbon past the printing line in very small increments to the end that great economy in the use of the carbon paper is effected.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of the M invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a-machine of the class described, a stationary base structure, a substantially fiat platen mounted on said base structure for movement horizontally thereon, a

printing head mounted on said base structure, said printing head comprising printing instrumentalities adapted to cooperate with said platen anda keyboard by means of which the operation of said printing instrumentalities may be determined, means for imparting line-space increments of movement to said platen rearwardly beneath said printing head, means for moving said platen in a return direction, a carbon roll rotatably mounted on said base structure, carbon feed rolls mounted on said base structure rearwardly of said platen, a carbon sheet extending from said carbon roll across said platen from front to rear thereof and between said carbon feed rolls, and means operable by line-space movement of said platen to rotate said feed rolls, said means rotating said feed rolls such an amount that each time the platen moves rearwardly a line-space distance the carbon sheet will be moved rearwardly only a fraction of a line-space distance.

2. In a machine of the class described, a stationary base structure, a substantially flat platen mounted on said base structure for movement horizontally thereon, a type carriage support carried by said base structure, a type carriage mounted on said type carriage support for letter-feed and return movement across said platen, said type carriage having type bars adapted to strike against said platen, means for imparting line-space increments of movement to said platen rearwardly beneath said type carriage, means for moving said platen in a return direction, a carbon roll rotatably mounted on said base structure, carbon feed rolls mounted on said base structure rearwardly of said platen, a carbon sheet extending from said carbon roll across said platen from front to rear thereof and between said carbon feed rolls, and means operable by line-space movement of said platen to rotate said feed rolls, said means rotating said feed rolls such an amount that each time the platen moves rearwardly a line-space distance the carbon sheet will be moved rearwardly only a fraction of a line-space distance.

3. In a machine of the class described, a stationary base structure, a substantially flat platen mounted on said base structure for movement horizontally thereon, a type carriage support carried by said base structure and extending upwardly therefrom, a type carriage mounted on said type carriage support for letter-feed and return movement across said platen, said type carriage having type bars adapted to strike against said platen, cooperating means on said type carriage support and said platen whereby said platen may be given line-space increments of movement rearwardly beneath said type carriage, means for moving said platen in a return direction, a carbon roll and a tally roll rotatably mounted on said base structure, carbon and tally feed rolls mounted on said base structure rearwardly of said platen, a carbon sheet and a tally sheet extending respectively from said carbon and tally rolls across said platen from front to rear thereof and between said carbon and tally feed rolls respectively, and drive means between said platen and said feed rolls whereby movement of said platen will cause rotation of said feed rolls, said drive means being of such construction that the feed rolls are rotated only when the platen moves in line-space direction, said drive means rotating the tally feed rolls sufiiciently to move the tally sheet a line-space distance for each line-space movement of the platen and rotating the carbon feed rolls a lesser amount whereby the carbon sheet will be moved only a fraction of a line-space distance for each linespace movement of the platen.

4. In a machine of the class described, a type head having printing instrumentalities adapted to print along a predetermined printing line, a substantially flat platen mounted for line-space movement beneath said type head, means for moving said platen past said printing line in line-space direction, feed means for feeding a record strip past said printing line, drive means for said feed means, said drive means being operated by said platen when said platen is moved in line-space direction, power means for restoring said platen to first-line-of-writing position, the movement of said platen to first-line-of-writing position being ineffective to operate said drive means, an actuator for instituting operation of said power means, means for moving said type head in letter-feed direction, selectively operable means to return said type head to linestart position and to an intermediate position, and means operable by said type head when said type head returns to line-start position to operate said actuator and thereby cause said platen to be returned to first-line-of-writing position.

5. In a machine of the class described, a type head having printing instrumentalities adapted to print along a predetermined printing line, a substantially flat platen mounted for line-space movement beneath said type head, means for moving said platen past said printing line in line-space direction, feed means operable by the movement of said platen in line-space direction for feeding a continuous record strip past said printing line, power means for restoring said platen to first-linerof-writing position, the movement of said platen to first-line-ofwriting position being ineflective to operate said feed means, an actuator for instituting operation of said power means, means for moving said type head in letter-feed direction, selectively operable means to return said type head to line-start position and to an intermediate position, means operable by said type head when said type head returns to line-start position to operate said actuator and thereby cause said platen to be returned to first-line-ofwriting position, said last named means being normally ineffective upon said actuator, and means to condition said last named means for effective operation by prior rearward movement of said platen a predetermined number of line spaces.

6. In a flat platen business machine having a type carriage movable in letter-feed direction and selectively returnable by power to an extreme left-hand position and to an intermediate position, a flat platen, means for moving said platen in a line-spacing direction, means for moving said platen in a return direction, a manipulative member for instituting a return of said platen, operating means for said manipulative member, said operating means being operable by the type carriage when the type carriage returns to its extreme left-hand position, latch means normally holding said operating means in an ineffective position, spring means urging said operating means toward an efiective position, and means on said platen for cooperating with said latch means when said platen moves a predetermined number of line spaces to release said latch means and thereby permit said spring means to move said operating means to an eflective position.

7. In a machine of the class described, a stationary 10 base structure, a substantially flat platen mounted on said base structure for movement horizontally thereon, a type carriage support carried by said base structure, a type carriage mounted on said type carriage support, said type carriage comprising a set of type actions and a keyboard by means of which the actuation of said type actions may be determined, means for moving said type carriage across said platen in letter-feed direction, carriage return means selectively operable to return said carriage to line-start position or to an intermediate position, line-space means for moving said platen rearwardly in line-space steps beneath said carriage, said line-space means being operable by said carriage return means, power means for returning said platen to first-line-of-writing position, an actuator for instituting operation of said power means, means operable by said carriage when said carriage returns to line-start position to operate said actuator and thereby cause said platen to be returned to first-line-of-writing position, said last named means being normally ineffective upon said actuator, and means to condition said last named means for effective operation by prior rearward movement of said platen a predetermined number of line spaces.

8. In a machine of the class described, a stationary base structure, a substantially flat platen mounted on said base structure for movement horizontally thereon, a printing head mounted on said base structure, said printing head comprising printing instrumentalities adapted to cooperate with said platen to print along a predetermined printing line and a keyboard by means of which the operation of said printing instrumentalities may be determined, means for imparting line-space increments of movement to said platen rearwardly beneath said printing head, record strip feed means to move a record strip past said printing line in line-space steps, said record strip feed means comprising feed rolls for gripping a record strip at a point past said printing line, means operable by linespace movement of said platen to rotate said feed rolls, carbon feed means to move a carbon strip past said printing line in steps of less length than a line-space, and means drivingly connecting said feed rolls to said carbon feed means whereby said carbon feed means is operated by said feed rolls. i

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,208,757 Dennis Dec. 19, 1916 1,212,940 Hart Jan. 16, 1917 2,467,135 Jensen Apr. 12, 1949 2,600,346 Von Hacht June 10, 1952 2,625,252 Riddle et a1. Ian. 13, 1953 

